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Amuse-Bouches from the Interwebz: July 17th through July 19th

Here’s the latest list of stuff I found interesting on the interwebz, July 17th through July 19th:

Why Millennials Don’t Want To Buy StuffThis starts out as a look at why "Millenials" (a name I still don't love for an age group, although I suppose it's better than "Boomers") tend to eschew acquiring for the sake of acquiring, which is interesting enough… But it turns quickly into something I think is even more interesting – a look at how owning something is no longer just about having a thing, but rather about doing something with it, and (even better) the connections we can get from that ownership.

I don't love that the point of the article seems to be how marketers and sales people can use this knowledge to their advantage (presumably at the expense of the Millenials), but I liked this part:

"There's a social piece to owning something that is still very much alive, and always will be. Many times (and this will only be more true in the future), the joy of having something isn't in the having, but in the sharing."

And then there’s this line, which speaks to how community is EVERYTHING these days:

“Sales isn’t really about ‘selling’ anymore, it’s about building a community.”

Now, the fact that community is so important because of how things like aggressive marketing and media-driven instant-gratification-itis and ALL THIS STUFF can make us feel more isolated, thereby making us crave community even more, which then gets marketed to us? Yeah, I’m not quite sure how to deal with that. Gimme a sec.

10 Questions From the U.S. Naturalization TestI'mma guess that the vast majority of Americans – myself included – would fail this test. Imagine if we all had to re-take this test every 10 years to renew citizenship, like we renew a driver's license…

Italy cuts spending to delay increase in sales taxItaly had planned to increase the VAT (value-added tax) – a tax all visitors pay on pretty much everything we buy – this fall in an effort to help bolster the sagging economy, but evidently they've made further budget cuts instead. The plan now is to implement the VAT increase in July 2013 from its current 21% up to 23%. In other words? Go to Italy before July of next year.

Creative Adventures in a Tiny WorldThis artist puts tiny human figurines in settings of normal human-sized objects in creative and funny ways. These are all utterly delightful, but the firefighters one made me laugh aloud. So clever!

What Happened to Bob Ross’ Paintings?Wow, I totally remember watching this guy paint on TV, & it never occurred to me to wonder where all those paintings ended up. This, my friends, IS WHY THE INTERNET WAS INVENTED.